With The Band
by question-mark007
Summary: Percy, Annabeth, Luke, Nico, and Percy's new demigod sister, Jenna are the hit band Sons of Gods. With Grover as manager, friends from camp, and parents visiting, can these demigods face a life of fame? Mainly Percabeth, but  Thuke, some BeckxSel, & NxOC
1. Arriving In Denver

The war with the Titans ended a little less than eighteen months ago and a lot had happened in that time. Just before my sixteenth birthday, Luke Castellan suddenly appeared at Camp Half-blood during dinner and apologized for betraying us. A few days later, there was a monster attack and Luke proved his loyalty by saving my life from a monster. **(A/N: neither Percy nor Luke has the Curse of Achilles)** I still don't really trust him, but I was willing to let bygones be bygones until I have a reason to hate him again.

The reason the monster attacked was because two powerful orphaned demigod sisters were trying to get to camp. The older sister's name is Jenna, she's about Nico's age and she managed to freeze the monster in the lake for long enough for us to kill it, the younger sister is six and named Grace. They were both claimed nearly fifteen minutes after they got to camp. Wanna guess who their parent is? Yup, that's right. Poseidon; they're both my half-sisters and what's more surprising is that we actually get along reasonably well. Jenna, Annabeth, and Thaila (who quit being a Hunter shortly after Luke came back) became fast friends, much to my relief.

This bonding period mainly happened when Grace decided to go spend a few days with my mom and stepdad, Paul (I'm not sure why, but she's quite stubborn and bossy). While she was there, she decided that she wanted to live with them during the year and go to camp for the summer so she could be a normal kid…well as normal as any half-blood.

During a free period at camp, I was hanging out with Nico, Grover, and Luke in my cabin. We started talking music and I picked up my guitar (my mom mailed it to me for an early birthday present) and started playing a song I wrote. Luke jumped in and started drumming and Nico somehow got a bass guitar and we jammed until dinnertime. During this jam session, we somehow got the idea to start a band and let Grover be our manager since the only instrument he can play are his reed pipes and he can only play, like, two songs. We'd just picked a name, _Sons of Gods_ (Nico's idea, it's cool right?), when Annabeth, Thaila, and Jenna walked in to make us go to dinner. No sooner had we told them about the band and played them a song, when they asked to join. Well, not Thaila, but apparently Jenna can play the guitar and Annabeth can play the piano (who knew?). Well, long story short, Grover got us a record deal and we were now starting our own headlining tour as _Sons of Gods_ and Grace living with my mom and stepdad.

All of this led to me sitting on our tour bus, strumming a guitar and trying not to kill someone. This was torture: I'm ADHD and sitting on a cramped tour bus with five other people, not including the driver. The only thing keeping me from freaking out was the song I was working on and the fact that Annabeth was sleeping on the couch opposite me.

I'd never admit this to anyone but I'd had a crush on her ever since we went into the Sea of Monsters to save Grover. I don't think I realized it until she disappeared shortly after we found Nico and his sister Bianca (who was killed in battle after becoming a Hunter of Artemis). It was horrible, having no idea where she was or if she was all right.

I was brought out of my zone-out by Grover coming and sitting next to me.

"Hey man. Whatcha working?" he asked.

"A new song." I sighed, "I'm nearly done, I just can't figure out how to end it."

"Why don't you just repeat the first line then fade out?" Nico piped up from the little kitchen area where he was making a sandwich.

"That's…not a bad idea…" I said, quickly writing it on the notepad that's attached to my song folder.

"Alright, so let's hear it." Jenna said, walking in and sitting next to Annabeth, who was slowly waking up.

"Hear what?" She yawned.

"Charlie's new song." Jenna replied. Since we were famous and demigods, we had to have stage names to throw off the monsters. Well, at least Nico, Annabeth and I did. Jenna was a new demigod so very few monsters knew who she really was. We did change her last name though, just as a precaution, to Blowfis, my stepdad's last name. Grover was a satyr so he didn't need one at all. Luke didn't need an alias either because 1) he helped Kronos and monsters are scared of him and 2) Luke is a common name. He, like Jenna, changed his last name a bit (He was now Luke Caster). Annabeth was Abby Runner, which is a very 'famous person' name if you ask me. Then there was Nico, who was Nick di Angelo. Nico rejected every idea we had for a last name so in the end we just let him keep his old one. I was Charlie Blowfis. Charles was one of my middle names and, like I said, Blowfis is my stepdad, Paul's last name.

"Charlie wrote a new song?" Annabeth turned to me. I nodded so she continued: "well, let's hear it."

"Alright, it's called _My Last Name_. Here we go:

_I learned how to write it, when I first started school_

_Some bully didn't like it, said it didn't sound too cool_

_So I had to hit him, and all I said when the blood came_

_It's my last name_

_Grandpa took it off to Europe, to fight the Germans in the war_

_It came back on some dog tags, nobody wears no more_

_It's written on a headstone, in the field where he was slain_

_It's my last name_

_Passed down from generations, too far back to trace_

_I can see all my relations, when I look into my face_

_May never make it famous, but I'll never bring it shame_

_It's my last name_

_Daddy always told me, far back as I recall_

_Son you're part of something, you represent us all_

_So keep it how you got it, as solid as it came_

_It's my last name_

_So darlin if you're wonderin, why I've got you here tonight_

_I wanna be your husband; I want you to be my wife_

_Ain't got much to give you, but what I've got means everything_

_It's my last name_

_I learned how to write it, when I first started school"_

"That was awesome!" our bus driver, Rex, exclaimed.

"Of course it was; it's Charlie." Luke said, "I love the last verse. Kudos on putting a bit of a love song spin on it." Suck-up.

"Yeah, I wasn't expecting that." Nico grinned.

"Haha very funny guys." I said. The reason they were making such a big deal about it was because they think I never write love songs. Truth is, I write love songs but I don't share them. Instead, they go in a metal box hidden under my bed with both a combination and pad lock. Overkill? Maybe, but there was no way they were seeing those songs.

"No but seriously, that was great and I can't wait to play it." Annabeth said.

"Thanks." I smiled at her.

"Yeah, if I didn't know better, I'd say there was a hidden romantic somewhere in that head of yours" Grover laughed, knocking on my head lightly with his fist. If only he knew…

"Yeah right. The day Charlie writes a love song is the day I profess my undying love to one of you guys." Jenna laughed. Nico looked anxious and slightly nervous at this. Realizing the tension she'd created, she quickly changed the subject:

"So Charlie, tell me, if I wrote a song and it was good, could we perform it?" she asked. I was saved from answering because Rex spoke up.

"Hey guys. We're gonna be there in about ten minutes, so you might want to clean up the bus a bit." He announced. The next eight and a half minutes were spent with us franticly trying to clean up the bus. We normally wouldn't bother but we were meeting up with a bunch of demigod friends. Wait…I haven't explained that, have I? Well we're all (except for Grover) half Greek god, half human. I'm the son of Poseidon and a mortal and so are Jenna and Grace. Annabeth is the daughter of Athena and a mortal man. Nico is the son of Hades. And Luke is the son of Hermes. Grover, however, is a satyr. He's half goat half human.

Once we deemed the bus expectable we all sat in the sitting area. Annabeth and Jenna were listening to Jenna's IPod, Nico was playing on his DS, Grover was eating a tin can, Luke was on his laptop and I was writing another song.

"So Charlie, you never did answer my question." Jenna said, breaking the silence, "If I wrote a song, would we perform it?"

"If it was a good song and both our manager and the label liked it, then yes." I replied slowly, focusing on writing the next lyric of my new song. She was about to reply when Rex spoke up. He's been awfully chatty lately…

"Alright guys." Rex said, "Welcome to beautiful Denver, Colorado; population…well…I have no idea but it's a large and great city. Just look at those mountains!" he went on and on but I tuned him and managed to get a few more lines down before we pulled up to the Hyatt. We climbed out of the bus, glad to be able to stretch our legs. Taking our backpacks filled with can't-live-without stuff and my beat-up, slightly out of tune guitar (my good one was in the storage area of the bus; I didn't want it to get damaged while going somewhere) we left Rex to unload our stuff with the help of a few bellhops and walked into the lobby. Grover went to the front desk to check in while we looked around. We looked for maybe fifteen seconds before we were ambushed.

Thaila, Selina, and Beckendorf surrounded us. Selina and Thaila gave everyone a hug. I couldn't help but notice, and I'm sure Nico did too by the look on his face, that Thaila's hug to Luke was about a second and a half too long to be a 'just friends' hug. We, the guys, shook hands with Beckendorf while Annabeth and Jenna hugged him. It was amazing how many friends she's made in such a short period of time.

"Hey guys!" Grover said, coming over. And the hugging and hand-shaking cycle repeated. "Alright." Grover began after everyone had greeted everyone else, "We've got two suites, the Monarch suite and the Regency Club King suite. **(A/N: These are actually real suites in the Denver Hyatt.). **The band and I will stay in the Monarch suite and all the guests will stay in the Regency Club King suite. They're on the same floor **(I don't know if they are, but that's why they call it fan **_**fiction**_**) **so we'll be close…actually, it takes up the entire floor, so we wont be bothering anyone. Rex is taking your instruments to the venue and the bellhops are taking your luggage up to the rooms now."

"Wait, what about my guitar?" I asked. I rarely performed with it but liked having it and wanted it if I was going to finish this song in time for our recording session in three days and the concert all of our parents were coming to in four days.

"Relax. I told Rex that the guitar case with all the bumper stickers on it was to be taken to your room." Grover clapped me on the shoulder, and then added; "I'm told the sitting area in our room also has a piano so we can have a serious jam session before the photo shoot." We were going to be doing an interview for some gossip magazine and they wanted pictures to go along with it so we had the shoot today, a day 'off', the interview, the recording session the day after, then our concert after that.

"Great!" Jenna said, "can we go see our rooms now?" with that we headed to the elevators and up to our rooms.

We walked into our room. There was a sitting area and a little kitchen and, as promised, a piano. Three doors led off to what I assumed were the bedrooms. As Luke, Nico, Jenna, Annabeth and Grover were deciding who would sleep where, I dropped my backpack, set down my guitar and went to the piano. I sat down and started playing a few chords that I'd thought would go with my new song and when I was proven wrong, I started playing around until I found what would work.

"Umm…Percy?" Annabeth called from across the room, causing me to snap out of my music zone.

"Yes?" I replied, looking up at her.

"Didn't you finish a song, like, an hour ago?" she asked, "why are you already working on a new one?"

"Yeah, I did. And I remembered that my dad's probably coming to one of our concerts while we're here so I'm writing a song for him." I replied, standing up.

"What kind of song is it?" Jenna asked. Apparently, she writes songs, but isn't comfortable enough around us yet to play any. We'd co-written a few songs while on the road, but I've performed them.

"It's kind of an ode to water." I grinned.

"Dad'll love that." Jenna laughed.

"Hope so. So what are the sleeping arrangements?" I asked

"Annabeth and Jenna, Luke and Nico, and you and me." Grover said, pointing to each door as he named the pair, "we've got about an hour before the photo shoot so we can just hang out until—" he was cut off by his cell phone ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered it as he walked into the room we were sharing. As he closed the door, there was a knock on the front door.

"I'll get it." Luke said, walking over and opening the door. Thaila, Selina, and Beckendorf, walked in.

"This place is awesome!" Thaila exclaimed, "Do you always stay in places like this?"

"No." Nico responded, "but since some of our parents are going to be dropping in on us, they decided to upgrade our accommodations."

"Accommodations? Learn a new word, Nico?" Luke snickered. Nico elbowed him, hard, in the ribs.

"Where's Grover?" Thaila asked.

"On the phone" Jenna said. We sat down and caught up on camp gossip and what it was like to be famous and be recognized whenever we were out in public until Grover walked out, still on the phone.

"Yes ma'am," he was saying, "Here he is, ma'am" and handed me the phone. I stood up, uncomfortably aware that everyone was watching me.

"Hello." I said into the receiver.

"_Yes, is this Charlie Blowfis from Sons of Gods?"_ a woman asked.

"Yes, it is." I replied.

"_I'm Betty Bowgar from Rock-O Records." _She sounded nervous. Rock-O Records was our label and they only called when they wanted to change something or they were mad.

"Umm…alright, how can I help you?" I asked. I wasn't sure what to say in a situation like this.

"_The woman in charge of your band's hair, make-up, and outfits has gone into an untimely and early labor." Ms. Bowgar began, "Unfortunately, she has not yet picked what you're to wear for the photo shoot, any of your concerts, or your interviews. Mr. Underwood, your manager, says that you know someone with an incredible sense of style. Mr. Brian, our CEO and founder, says that if she is available, to have her fill in for the old Public Appearance woman while she is on maternity leave, which would require going with you for the rest of your tour._"

"Okay…um…just give me a second to ask and I'll get back to you in one moment." I pushed the hold button and turned to Selina and told her, what Betty just told me, "So will you do it? You don't have to if you don't want to."

"Of course I'll be your stylist!" She screamed then suddenly stopped and turned to Beckendorf, "as long as it's alright with you."

"'Course you should do it! You can come visit me in your off time." He chuckled. Selina turned to me and nodded enthusiastically. I hit the hold button again and resumed my conversation with Betty. She was thrilled that we'd found someone and hung up with a very quick 'I'm a huge fan'".

"Well that was awkward." I sighed, sitting back down.

"She's an odd one, isn't she?" Grover nodded.

"She told me she was a huge fan then hung up." I laughed. We sat around joking about Betty Bowgar until Selina asked if we could go the photo shoot early so she could pick out what we'd be wearing.

"Sure, let me go grab a hat." I said. Hats were my new things since I became famous. They helped me go incognito. I went into the room I was sharing with Grover and opened my duffel bag and rummaged through it until I found my favorite Batman baseball cap. It was black with the yellow Batman insignia on the front. I put it on and went to go join everyone else.

"Where's Annabeth?" I asked, noticing she wasn't with everyone else.

"Said she had to get something." Luke grinned at me knowingly.

"Oh! Are you two finally together?" Selina squealed, picking up on the look Luke gave me.

"W-what? N-no! Of course not." I stuttered.

"Oh, come on, Percy. I've known you less time than anyone here and even I can see you like each other." Jenna gave me a 'get real' look.

"Okay, can we just not talk about this now?" I asked, looking around, remembering that Annabeth had an invisibility cap.

"Fine but we _will_ talk about this later." Selina said, glancing over my shoulder.

"Talk about what?" Annabeth asked, walking out of her room carrying her Yankee invisibility hat, her bronze knife, and wearing a jacket.

"Nothing." Nico said quickly, standing. Annabeth looked at him curiously. I knew she could tell he was hiding something.

"Alright, lets go and get this shoot over with." I said, also standing up and saving Nico from Annabeth, who was about to try to get more information.

"Yeah, the limo's waiting downstairs." Grover agreed. Everyone else stood up and headed to the door

"Don't worry, I wont do anything too bad." Selina smiled at me as we filed out the door. Was it just me, or was that a slightly evil smile?

"Oh no." Luke groaned, "We're going to end up looking worse than the freaking Jonas Brothers." Thaila laughed and punched him playfully on the arm.

"Have a little faith, Luke." She said.

"I am. That's why I'm praying to every god I know of." Luke replied.

**-SELINA POV-**

(Because Percy doesn't know or care about clothes)

I was in seventh heaven in the massive closet at the studio. I picked out what Nico would wear first. Nico was the Goth-ish type band member so I chose a black shirt with a skull that went with his ring. He also got dark skinny jeans. Luke, I decided, would be the surfer dude because of his blonde hair and blue eyes. Luke wore cargo shorts, an American Eagle red v-neck t-shirt and a white puka shell necklace. He was the perfect California boy. I even managed to cover the scar over his eye almost completely using a combination of concealer and cover-up. I knew Percy and Nico were never going to let him live that down, but I didn't care.

I decided Percy, or should I say 'Charlie' would wear dark skinny jeans, a light green dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows and a tie loosened around his neck. He was supposed to be the 'heartthrob' of the band. Him and Luke, so they looked the best, but Nico looked good if I do say so myself.

I gave Jenna a slightly lighter than forest green dress to bring out her eyes but also make her brown hair pop. She also got black leggings. Annabeth, however, was slightly harder. She was less girly so I didn't know what to have her wear until I saw a violet dress that stopped mid-thigh and grey leggings to make her eyes look brighter. Once everyone was wearing what I gave them and I deemed their hair and makeup acceptable, they were allowed to go on set.

**-Percy's POV-**

The photographer's name was Bernard Roux and who liked talking in third person and he quickly became best friends with Selina. They were talking very excitedly in French, which didn't surprise me too much as French is the language of love and her mother _is_ the goddess of love. After what seemed like forever, Beckendorf went over and said something that interrupted their conversation so we could get on with the photo shoot. We, the band, stood in front of a white backdrop while Bernard examined 'vat Bernard 'ad to work with' as he said in his very strong French accent. Once he decided, he connected his IPod to some speakers and started blaring upbeat classical music **(A/N: I'm not saying this is what all French people listen to, it's just what Bernard listens to.)**.

"What _is _that?" Nico asked, covering his ears.

"Torture. That's what it is." Luke replied, grimacing.

"I'll handle it." Jenna offered, and walked over to the speakers. She was, along with Annabeth, the problem solver. Jenna pulled out her ever-present IPod and plugged it in. Nickelback started playing and Bernard, who had been dancing badly to his music, whipped around in indignation.

"Who changed Bernard's music?" He demanded, glaring at us. This wasn't going to go well.

"I did." Jenna said, stepping forward. Hmm…at least she's owning up to it, "That music doesn't work for us. We need to listen to our music for the best photo shoot possible, right guys?" she appealed to us.

"Yeah" we said in unison.

"I agree with Jenna." Selina cut in, "Now can we get on with the shoot?"

"Bernard cannot work like this!" Bernard cried, indignantly, "you must do the shoot with out Bernard!" he stormed off. Uh-oh. That's not good.

**So what do you think? I've read a few stories like this and have finally decided to write one myself. Please review!**


	2. The Photo Shoot

**C2**

**A/N: I forgot to say that the song Percy wrote last chapter was called **_**My Last Name**_** and it's by Dierks Bentley, the title of the story, **_**With The Band**_**, is also the title of another Dierks Bentley song.**

** Percy/Charlie's POV**

"Great. Now how are we going to do the shoot?" Grover groaned. Typical manager, worrying about that stuff.

"Charlie!" Selina cried, "Charlie can take pictures."

"Um…Charlie's in the band." Grover said, glancing at me.

"No! Not _Percy-_Charlie, _Beckendorf-_Charlie. He can take pictures." Selina rolled her eyes.

"I can?" Beckendorf asked. I heard Nico snicker behind me.

"Yes, you can." Selina said handing him the camera that Bernard handed her just before he ran out.

"Okay, I guess I'll take pictures then." Beckendorf said slowly, "Just crank up the music and goof off." Thaila went over to the IPod station and turned the volume up some more.

I don't know what he took pictures of, but I do know it was the best photo shoot we've ever had. We were jumping all over the place, and on each other. At one point, I had Nico in a headlock and Jenna and Annabeth had made a chair for Luke out of their arms and he was sitting on it.** (A/N: I don't know a better way to say it it's like they're on either side of him, one arm each supporting his back, the other under his legs.)**. After about a half hour of us messing with each other, Selina started giving orders.

"Lets make a pyramid!" she said. Luke, Nico and I got on all fours, Luke and me on the outsides with Nico in the middle. Annabeth and Jenna were on all fours too but they weren't on the floor, they were on our backs. Beckendorf got a few pictures of us like that, making various faces.

"Okay, now get up" Selina started giving orders again, "Charlie, let Abby ride piggyback, Nick, do the same with Jenna." Nico and I hunched down to let the girls on our backs easier. Once I was sure Annabeth was secure, I stood up, with my arms behind me to keep her from slipping too much. Her arms circled tighter around my neck as I stood.

"Easy Abby, I need to breath." I teased her.

"Oh, sorry Seaweed Brain." She said quietly. I was glad she did; her mouth was right next to my ear.

"Selina, what do you want me to do?" Luke asked.

"Stand between them and put a hand on each of the girls' backs." She ordered. Once we were all in place, Beckendorf walked around us taking pictures at different angles.

"Come on guys, look happy." Beckendorf said.

"Yeah, it's not that hard." Luke laughed.

"Easy for you to say," Nico grunted, "Your air circulation isn't being cut off."

"Oh, suck it up, Nick." Thaila called from the food table across the room as Beckendorf continued to snap picture after picture.

"Okay! I think that's enough, don't you?" Selina asked Beckendorf, who nodded.

"Alright then, that's a wrap!" Grover called, "go change. We have dinner reservations in two hours." Nico and I set Jenna and Annabeth down and both of them ran off to their dressing room. Nico, Luke and I went into ours, talking about the shoot.

"That was so random how Bernard just walked off." Luke was saying.

"Yeah, Bianca used to call those 'hissy fits'" Nico laughed at the memory of his now-deceased sister.

"Bet you loved the last few pictures, Nico." I joked, "Jenna that close." It was common for us to tease each other for the way we act around the girls we like. Mainly we teased Nico about Jenna, Luke about Thaila, and me about Annabeth.

"Look who's talking! If I remember correctly, Annabeth was holding you so tightly, you had trouble breathing!" Nico retaliated.

"'Cause she was scared I'd drop her!" I exclaimed, blushing slightly.

There was a knock on the door and Jenna walked in, already changed, saying "Hey Charlie, I–" she suddenly saw us in various states of undress and whirled around so her back was facing us.

"I'm so sorry guys," she apologized.

"You couldn't have waited till we told you to come in?" Luke asked as he pulled on his street shirt. I was already dressed and putting on my shoes, but Nico was the worst off. He had been in only his boxers when she came in.

"Yeah, really." Nico said, standing up from behind the couch that he dove behind when she walked in.

"I didn't think you'd still be changing." Jenna muttered, "I thought boys were supposed to get ready faster than girls were."

"Well, I'm already changed. So lets leave these two to finish changing and we can talk." I said quickly, cutting off a smart aleck retort from Luke. Jenna and I walked out into the hallway.

"Okay. What's up?" I asked.

"You know how Grover's making us all go out to dinner tonight 'cause he's got some really big news to tell us?" I nodded so she continued, "well, he wants me to tell you that he's got more news. About adding more people to our 'staff'"

"We have a staff?" Nico asked as he and Luke walked out of our dressing room.

"Kind of." Jenna said vaguely.

"Charlie, Luke, Nick, Jenna! Come on! We're about to leave." Annabeth called up the hall. She turned and walked away and we ran after her.

We jumped in the limo to find Beckendorf, Selina, Thaila, and Annabeth waiting for us.

"Where's Grover?" I asked, not about to leave my half-goat best friend.

"He got an urgent call and left. He said he'd meet us at the restaurant at seven." Thaila responded. The rest of the car ride to the hotel was uneventful. Jenna, Annabeth and I sang along to the radio while Selina and Beckendorf whispered to each other and Nico and Luke played slaps. When we got to the hotel, both of their hands were bright red and they winced as they flexed them. We went into our rooms to shower and change. As Grover wasn't there, I had the room to myself, so I was the first one ready.

I was wearing my very best pair of dark skinny jeans, a white dress shirt with a loose purple tie and purple Vans to match. Did I want to wear this? Not really. I prefer blue to purple but when I came out of the shower (wearing nothing but a towel, which makes this even creepier), I found these clothes laid out for me with a note that said, _Percy, if you don't wear this, you __will__ be sorry._ There was a little heart at the bottom of the paper, so it was either Selina or Aphrodite. Either way, I decided not to push my luck and just wear what I was told to wear. Once I was dressed, I put on my Batman hat and went into the living room.

I flopped down on one of the couches and pulled out my phone. Out of boredom and concern, I texted Grover, asking if he was still meeting us for dinner. I played my guitar and attempted to finish my Ode to Dad while I waited for him to respond. While I was working Thaila and Nico walked in. I put my guitar away as my phone buzzed. Checking it, I saw it was a text from Grover and after a few reads, I finally figured out what it meant: _I'm fine; yeah I'll be at dinner. So will Betty :( We've got big new & you're not gonna like it. Explain later. See you at 7._

**Sorry about the short chapter. I'll have another one up soon. Just in case you were wondering who was who in the band…**

**Percy/Charlie: Lead singer/song writer**

**Annabeth/Abby: Piano**

**Jenna: Guitar**

**Luke: Drummer**

**Nico/Nick: Bass guitar**

**Please review! Let me know if you have any song ideas! I've got a few, but I'm always open to suggestions! REVIEW!**


	3. On The Way To Dinner

**C3**

I saw it was a text from Grover and after a few reads, I finally figured out what it meant: _I'm fine; yeah I'll be at dinner. So will Betty :( We've got big new & you're not gonna like it. Explain later. See you at 7._

"Uh-oh." I muttered. That didn't sound good.

"What?" Nico asked. I read the text message aloud as Jenna walked in.

"That doesn't sound good." Jenna groaned.

"Nope. Not at all." Nico agreed as Annabeth walked in. Noticing the somber mood, she wasn't nearly as talkative as she normally was. As she sat down next to me, I showed her the text message. She fell into a deep trance-like silence. Like the ones she gets into when she needs to solve a problem. We talked about the meaning of the mystery text message until Selina finished getting ready. She was, of course, cutting it close; she showed up about fifteen seconds before we needed to leave or be late.

"No." she said, looking at me.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"You are not wearing that horrible hat!" She cried, "It completely throws off what you're wearing!"

"We'll talk about it in the car." Thaila intervened, tossing me my coat, "we're about to be late!" Selina took advantage of my not paying attention to her while I caught my jacket. She quickly grabbed the hat off my head.

"Seriously?" I said, glaring at her. Thaila and Jenna pushed both of us out to the elevators.

"Why can't I wear the hat?" I asked in the elevator.

"Because it completely throws off your outfit. A lot of work went into picking that out so you'd match Annab—Abby." She quickly changed names as the band gave her a sharp look.

"Why do I have to match Abby?" I asked, now completely confused.

"I'll explain later." She muttered as the elevator slowed and three people got on, two teenage girls and a teenage boy. For the first time I noticed that I actually _was_ matching Annabeth. She was wearing a purple knee-length dress. Looking around, I realized everyone was matching someone. Nico and Jenna were both wearing the same color green, Luke and Thaila were wearing blue, and Beckendorf and Selina were both wearing pink (shocker, right?).

"Excuse me." One of the girls who just got on the elevator interrupted my realization, "But you wouldn't happen to be the band, _Sons of Gods_ would you?" she had shoulder-length brown hair and eyes and was about Nico's height.

"Yeah, we are actually." I laughed as the elevator reached the lobby and the doors opened.

"We're huge fans, right Maya?" The other girl piped up. She looked like the first girl, Maya, but with blue eyes and was closer to Thaila's height. I grinned; it was a great feeling to be recognized by fans.

"Totally." Maya squealed, "Hey, do you think we could maybe get your autograph?"

"Maya, Martha, they're clearly headed to do something important." The guy (light brown hair, hazel eyes and was nearly Beckendorf's size) with them gestured at the way we were dressed. The girls glared at him.

"No, we always have time for fans, right guys?" Luke replied. We all nodded and pulled out the Sharpies we always carried. After signing their paper, one of the girls, Maya, spoke up:

"We're in room 429, on the fourth floor if you want to stop by, if you're bored." She offered.

"That's right, Maya, invite them to our room. Because we all know how much you love Charlie." Martha rolled her eyes.

"Yes, but not as much as you like Luke." She retorted, blushing, "and anyway, everyone knows Charlie and Abby are perfect for each other."

"What?" Annabeth and I asked, simultaneously.

"You two would be the perfect match." Martha shrugged.

"Yeah, your dark hair compliments her blonde hair, not to mention your personalities are very compatible." Maya added.

"Told you they were your biggest fans." Mike muttered.

Ignoring him, Maya continued, "Plus, you're matching, so you're obviously going to where-ever as each others date. That's just more proof." I was starting to get really weirded out and by the look on her face, so was Annabeth. Selina, on the other hand, looked delighted.

"We might stop by later, but we really need to be going." Nico cut in, checking his watch.

"No problem. You don't have to stop by if you don't want to. They're a little intense." Mike said.

"Well, maybe. If we have time" Annabeth said as we walked away.

"Yeah. Bye Abby!" Mike mock-saluted her. She laughed and I felt a sudden dislike of Mike bubble up in my chest as we walked out of the hotel and into the waiting limo.

"Wow, it's so exciting!" Selina squealed as we pulled away from the hotel, "getting recognized, asked for autographs and having fans profess their undying love for you!"

"They didn't 'profess their undying love' for us. They—" I was cut off by Thaila.

"They told you and Anna—Abby that you were perfect for each other." She said, eyebrows raised.

I shrugged, ignoring the nervousness bubbling up in my stomach, "Fans are crazy sometimes"

Thaila rolled her eyes and Selina looked at me suspiciously while the guys snickered, but they both let the subject drop. I sat back in relief and looked at Annabeth.

"I think that Mike guy liked you." I told her as other conversations started picking up.

"Well, he seems like he doesn't respect our music. You know I don't go out with guys who don't respect me or what I do." She said. I nodded and didn't say anything else. This was one of the first times she'd spoken about her horrible ex-boyfriend. He was a musician himself and had thought that we had the musical talent of a toaster. After their really messy break-up, people were on Annabeth's side after the break-up, which was one of the reasons _Sons of Gods_ had exploded with popularity within just a few months. Though none of us would admit it, we owed that jerk some of the credit for us headlining our own tour so fast. Thinking about Annabeth's ex, I suddenly got an idea for a song. I pulled a pad of paper and a pen that I always carry for moments like this, out of my pocket. I wrote a verse, the chorus and half of another verse and paused, glancing up, I saw that everyone was staring at me.

"Get an idea, Charlie?" Nico asked, looking bemused. We had to use our stage names because the divider between the driver and us wasn't up.

"Yeah…" I muttered, writing another line.

"What type of song is it?" Luke asked.

"Its kind of a 'what the hell, you broke her heart' song." I replied, looking at the lyrics.

"Who's it for?" Selina asked, a knowing look in her eye.

"Its not really _for_ anyone." I lied shrugging, jotting down another lyric.

"If you say so." She replied.

"Yup, I do." I wrote a few more lines, finishing the song. She glared at me as we pulled into the restaurant. I stuffed my newly completed song and pen back into my pocket as I climbed out of the limo, after Beckendorf and Selina. I turned and helped Thaila and Annabeth out of the limo.

"Thanks Seaweed Brain." Annabeth said, straitening her dress.

"Anytime, Wise Girl." I grinned as we walked into the restaurant. We saw Grover and a woman with her back to us so we wandered over to them, tension and nervous anticipation in the air.

**And there we have the third chapter. I'll have the fourth chapter up soon. HINT: the more reviews the sooner the chapter will be up. So please, REVIEW.**

**Song ideas are also welcome. I know they haven't actually performed yet, but they will within the next few chapters.**

** REVIEW!**


	4. Deals At Dinner

**C4**

**A/N: I got told in a review that instead of Selina it's Silena and that I've been spelling it wrong. I looked it up and they were right, so that is why her name is now spelled differently then it was in the first few chapters. Sorry for the error, I should've checked before I published the first chapter, and thanks to Sun E. Day for catching it.**

"Hey guys." Grover greeted us, "This is Betty Bowgar. She's a representative from the label. They have a few things they want to change."

We introduced ourselves to Betty, who looked like a chipmunk by the way, and sat down. We ordered almost immediately, a perk to being famous. I seemed liked Betty less and less every time she opened her mouth. First Betty told us she wanted to wait till the food arrived until she told us the news, then she made us wait till we were nearly done eating before she finally told us what we'd been dragged here to be told.

"Well, I'd like to begin by saying that I'm a huge fan." Her voice was squeakier in person that it had been on the phone, "I'd also like to say that all of these orders from the company are coming from the top and that I am simply the messenger. And possibly the bearer of bad news, depending on how you view these requests"

Luke muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "My dad feels your pain." Thaila slapped him on the arm.

"Alright, so we won't jump down your throat." Annabeth agreed, glaring at Luke "So what are these 'demands'?"

"Well, Abby, Mr. Brian, founder and CEO of Rock-O Records, has decided that you all are now so popular that you need security. He's made arrangements for shows and other public events but he wants you to have one, full time person, who you may hire, considering they will be protecting you, after all."

The fact that she thought we needed help defending ourselves was insanely funny. We were freaking _demigods_. We were highly trained in combat and I'm sure that Jenna, who had the most limited knowledge of fighting skills of anyone in the band, would be able to hold her own with a mortal. We, of course, said none of this, for fear of laughing, as Annabeth spoke up,

"Beckendorf, would you want to do it?" she asked tentatively, "You would be able to come with us and Silena."

After glancing at Silena to make sure it was all right with her (he received a very enthusiastic nod from her), he agreed.

"Wonderful. That's just wonderful. Mr. Brian will be very pleased." Betty exclaimed, "Now, the other thing he wanted was that, while he loves what the band has been coming out with, he thinks you need to change things up a little."

"And how would we do that? Dye our hair blue?" Nico asked dryly.

"Well…I…No!" she spluttered, "He means that, Charlie," she directed her attention towards me, "He wants you to come out with love songs."

"You're kidding" I half groaned, half laughed as the rest of the band and our visiting friends snickered at the thought.

"Mr. Brian does not kid, Charlie." She said to me seriously, "He wants you to have six songs, minimum, by your concert in four days, though it'd be better if they were completed by the before, in time for your recording session."

"How does that help the band, if I'm up there, belting out how I feel about some girl?" I asked, incredulous. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Silena and Thaila look at Annabeth and I could've sworn I saw her blush, but it must've been a trick of the restaurant lighting.

"It would make you seem more human. More relatable, if you're having problems with a girl." Betty explained

"Come on, Betty." Luke started in on my behalf, "Everyone knows that Charlie can't write a good love song to save his life." Or not.

"Wanna bet?" I asked Luke. My stupid ADHD getting the better of me.

Everyone looked at me, surprised, especially the girls of the group.

"Yeah, yeah. Lets bet on it." Luke said, "Silena, Thaila, Abby, and Jenna will be the judges of whether or not it's a good song. We'll name the stakes later."

"Alright. Deal." We shook hands. Uh-oh. Why did I have the feeling this was going to end badly for me?

Shortly after we got back to the hotel after our eventful dinner with Betty, Luke, Nico and I went into their room so Luke and I could complete the bet by naming our stakes with Nico, as our witness to we couldn't back out later if we lost.

"Okay," he began, "I win, you tell Annabeth that you like her."

"Fine. I win, you tell Thaila you like her." I responded. We shook hands, trying to break the other's hand. I walked back into my room to find that Jenna and Silena where sitting on the beds.

"Hey guys. You realize this isn't your room, right?" I asked, walking over to the dresser and taking my tie off.

"Yeah, well, we wanted to talk to you." Silena said, sitting up straighter

"About what?" I asked, getting nervous.

"The stakes of your and Luke's bet." Jenna informed me, also sitting up straighter.

"It's nothing, alright?" I sighed.

"It's a bet. That's not nothing," Silena noted.

"Exactly. What're the terms of the bet?" Jenna asked.

"It's just that if he wins, I tell Annabeth that I like her and if I win, he does the same with Thaila." I shrugged

"High stakes." Jenna commented.

"It's not like it wasn't going to happen eventually anyway." Silena shrugged.

"Okay, look it's not like that. She doesn't like me that way." I said, defensively.

"HA! You never said you didn't like her!" Jenna looked triumphant.

"Okay, so what if I do?" I asked, knowing I was heading for trouble, but didn't care. Dumb ADHD, making me impulsive.

"Well that's great! It means you're one step closer to becoming a couple!" Silena beamed at me.

"Except for the whole 'she doesn't like me back' thing" I rolled my eyes.

"So you admit you like her?" Jenna asked.

"Yes, yes, I admit I like her. Happy?" I rolled my eyes at them grinning at me because they'd been trying to get me to admit I liked Annabeth since the beginning of forever.

"Well, you have to tell her." Silena decided. Jenna nodded in agreement.

"Okay, I'm going to say one last thing, then you both leave so I can sleep, got it?" I asked, they nodded in consent, "Ever think, maybe she's the reason we don't do love songs?" they both started to speak but I held up a hand and pointed to the door. As they were leaving I said, "If either of you ever speak about this again, you will not like what I do next." And with that, I closed the door and went to the bathroom. I sprayed some water and threw a gold drachma into it and said, "O Lady Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Lord Poseidon."

The image in the water grew until I was looking at my dad.

"Hello Percy." He greeted, "How are you son?"

"Hey Dad. I'm fine. I was just wondering if you could do me a favor." I asked, slightly nervous. His brow furrowed and he looked at me for a moment before answering:

"Depends on the favor."

"It's nothing bad." I assured him quickly, "I just need something from home faster than Mom can send it and I'd ask Hermes but he might tell Luke and that wouldn't work very well."

"So, you want me to play messenger?" he asked. I couldn't tell if he was angry or not.

"I guess. If you want to put it that way." I shrugged, tentatively.

"What do you need me to get?" he smiled.

"It's my song box. Its under my bed in my room in Mom and Paul's apartment" I responded quickly.

"It'll be on your dresser in the morning." He nodded, "Bye son. See you in a few days."

"Bye Dad. See you then." And he was gone.

**So…what'd you think? Please let me know! I promise songs will be coming in the next chapter and a lot after that! Please let me know if you have any suggestions or questions or anything! Please review!**


	5. The Song Box

**I know it's been forever, but I have a good reason! Okay…I actually don't have a reason at all, unless you count a horrific combination of writers block and laziness… which I feel like, you, don't… anyway! I'm back and I've already got half of the next chapter written and there is some serious drama heading toward our favorite demi-god band, so please don't hate me completely yet! And thanks for sticking with me! Read on! **

**Disclaimer: I am a girl and Rick Riordan is not. Thus I am not him and own nothing Percy Jackson related…except for the series, which I bought…**

I woke up the next morning and, sure enough, there was my song box. It was an old green ammo box with both of the locks on it. As Grover wasn't in our room and our door was locked, I figured it'd be safe while I showered. When I walked back into our room, wearing my blue-plaid pajama bottoms and towel-drying my hair, I stopped in my tracks. Sitting on my bed was Annabeth, Nico, and Jenna. On Grover's bed was Thalia and Silena while Luke and Beckendorf sat in the armchairs. Talk about creepy.

"Okay. You guys have got to stop coming into my room!" I exclaimed.

"Morning to you too, Percy." Thalia grinned.

"I locked my door. How in Hades…?" I wondered aloud.

"Oh please. Beckendorf is the son of Hephaestus. That puny lock was not match for him." Silena rolled her eyes.

"Man Percy. When did you get so ripped?" Luke called from across the room. I glanced down, suddenly realizing that I was in my pajama bottoms and no shirt. I quickly crossed to the dresser and threw on a t-shirt, trying to keep my face from turning red.

"So why did all of you decide to ambush me while I was getting dressed?" I asked, stepping behind Luke's chair to change into jeans.

"The ammo box" Jenna said simply.

"Oh. Right. That is my song box. Any song that I don't want to share with the world goes into the song box." I explained.

"Are there any love songs in the song box?" Annabeth asked.

"Maybe." I said vaguely.

"Urg. Percy, don't be so difficult!" Thalia groaned, "We just want to know if you've admitted to crushing on anyone we know in those songs."

"First, I don't name names. That's mean." I said, "Second, how did you even know that the song box was here?"

"My mom came to me in a dream last night and told me." Silena explained, "When I was trying to get in here, I couldn't because of the locked door. So I had to explain what I was doing, so Beckendorf would pick the lock for me and everyone else heard and wanted to come see the box." Wow. She said that all on one breath. Impressive.

"And you didn't break into the box?" I asked, confused

"Of course not. That would be an invasion of privacy." Silena informed me.

"But breaking into my room while I'm in the shower isn't?" I asked, even more confused. She couldn't answer because Grover walked in.

"Why is everyone in here? We have an entire living room in there" He pointed out the door and to one of the couches.

"No reason." Luke said, standing up, " so Grover, where've you been?"

"Talking with Betty and the head of our label, Mr. Brian." He said as we walked into the living room, "And they've got a few more 'ideas'."

"Oh no." The band groaned as we sat down.

"I know. I know. Guys, I tried my hardest, but they were very persistent."

"I hate being someone's puppet." Luke snapped at no one, "That's why I left Kronos."

"We know Luke." Annabeth said quietly as Thalia sat beside him and patted him on the back.

"So what's the news?" Nico asked, clearly trying to alleviate the tension Luke's outburst had caused.

"Well, they want some duets, Percy. And some of them need to be love songs." He looked at me, as if expecting me to explode.

"Okay. I can do that." I shrugged. I had seven surprised faces looking at me.

"Percy, you've never written a duet before." Jenna said.

"Not that you know of." I crossed my arms, "what else did they say?"

"Well, they also want you to write some songs that need non-traditional instruments." Grover told us, "Do any of play any other instruments?"

"I can play the violin" Jenna spoke up.

"And I can play the cello." Nico added.

"I've played the harmonica before." Luke grinned.

"Okay, I think I can work those in." I grinned, "seriously, the harmonica?"

"I got bored one summer at camp and stole it from an Apollo kid." Luke shrugged, "learned pretty quick from there."

"Well okay then. There's only one more thing." Grover informed us.

"Just one?" Nico rolled his eyes.

"Guys, I'm sorry, but I think you'll like this one." He said.

"Doubt it." Annabeth sighed, leaning back in her chair.

"The label likes that we've invited our friends and family to our concert." Grover began, "they want you to get out and do 'normal' things with them, like shopping or go to a skate park or something."

"Really? That's one of their demands? Act like 'normal people?" Luke laughed.

"Well, they want you to appear normal to the world and its good publicity if you're seen shopping or at a restaurant." Grover explained.

"This is fantastic!" Silena squealed, "We can go shopping and I can pick out what everyone is going to wear for the concert in a few days."

"Umm…pass." Nico said, "I'd rather spend the day with Betty Bowgar than go shopping with a daughter of Aphrodite."

"Agreed." Luke said, "Lets go to an arcade or something."

"Sounds good, Percy, Beckendorf, Grover? You in?" Nico asked.

"No, I'm going to work on the list of demands I've been given." I rolled my eyes.

"True." Luke shrugged.

"You know, I didn't think about how nearly all of the demands are for you…" Thalia pondered.

"Guess they want me to change." I shrugged and Grover slapped me on the back.

"Well, guys, count me in. I'm warning you though, I'm a master at Pacman." Beckendorf grinned.

"I cant. I need to get some work done, then I'm going to relax for a bit." Grover said, getting up and going into our room. After he left, we quickly split into groups. Nico, Luke, and Beckendorf were going to an arcade, while Silena, Annabeth, and Thalia were going shopping (Jenna was going to call home and talk to our sister, Grace, who was living with my mom and stepdad). As they left and Jenna went into her room, I got up and grabbed my guitar and the song box.

I started sifting through songs, trying to find good ones. I found half written songs, bad songs, bad half written songs. It was over-whelming. I was so busy sorting them into piles that I didn't even notice when Jenna walked back in until she sat down in an armchair to my left.

"Want help?" she asked.

"Please. I'm in way over my head here." I replied. I glanced at the clock to see how long I'd been working and did a double take. I'd been sitting there for nearly half an hour.

We sat for a while going through songs, occasionally asking the other's opinion or asking for help deciphering a word because of either our dyslexia or my bad handwriting. While we worked, we'd talk about the band, or life out side of Camp Half-Blood or our respective best friends (Hers being Nico and mine being Annabeth). We eventually got sidetracked over one of the songs I'd written called _I'm Just A Kid _about what life was like being a half-blood during the school year.

"No, Percy, I understand the concept but I'm not getting the beat or the harmony or anything like that." Jenna laughed as I ended my long description of the reasoning behind the song.

"Oh…well here let me play it for you." I grabbed my guitar and started strumming.

_I woke up it was 7 _

_I waited till 11 _

_Just to figure out that no one would call _

_I think I've got a lot of friends _

_But I don't hear from them _

_What's another night all alone _

_When you're spending every day on your own _

_And here it goes _

_I'm just a kid _

_And life is a nightmare _

_I'm just a kid _

_I know that it's not fair _

_Nobody cares cuz I'm alone and the world is having more fun than me _

_And maybe when the night is dead _

_I'll crawl into my bed, staring at these 4 walls again _

_I'll try to think about the last time I had a good time _

_Everyone's got somewhere to go & they're gonna leave me here on my own _

_And here it goes _

_I'm just a kid _

_And life is a nightmare _

_I'm just a kid _

_I know that it's not fair _

_Nobody cares cuz I'm alone and the world is having more fun than me _

_What the hell is wrong with me _

_Don't fit in with anybody _

_How did this happen to me? _

_Wide awake I'm bored & I can't fall asleep _

_And every night is the worst night ever _

_I'm just a kid _

_I'm just a kid _

_I'm just a kid _

_I'm just a kid _

_I'm just a kid _

_I'm just a kid _

_And life is a nightmare _

_I'm just a kid _

_I know that it's not fair _

_Nobody cares cuz I'm alone and the world is _

_Nobody wants to be alone in the world _

_I'm just a kid _

_And life is a nightmare _

_I'm just a kid _

_I know that it's not fair _

_Nobody cares cuz I'm alone and the world is _

_Nobody wants to be alone in the world _

_Nobody cares cuz I'm alone and the world is having more fun than me tonight _

_I'm all alone tonight _

_Nobody cares tonight _

_Cuz I'm just a kid tonight_

"Okay, that was awesome." Jenna smiled.

"Thank you." I grinned, "I work hard on my lyrics."

We talked about the dynamic of the song for a few more minutes…actually, it was more like she talked about the dynamic and I agreed because I didn't know what she was talking about. We stopped talking when Annabeth and Thalia walked in.

"She's insane!" Thalia exclaimed, flopping down in an armchair to my right, "I'm so glad she let us leave!"

"What'd Silena do?" Jenna asked, smirking slightly.

"She's just crazy. Never. Ever. Go shopping with her." Thalia shuddered.

"I know she was bad, but you were at fault too." Annabeth said, sitting down next to me. She stopped Thalia from retorting by drawing her attention to the coffee table covered with papers.

"Are these songs?" Annabeth asked, sifting through the papers.

"Yeah. They are" I replied, distractedly, shuffling through some while trying to keep my guitar balanced on my knee.

"Wow. A lot of these are love songs." Annabeth said, glancing through some of them.

"Just because we don't play them, doesn't mean I don't write them," I told her.

"Well okay Kelp-For-Brains, lets hear one." Thalia ordered, clearly still in a bad mood.

"Yeah Percy, here play…this one." Annabeth handed me a piece of slightly crumpled paper.

"Um…it's a duet." I told her, glancing over the song.

"That's fine. Annabeth, sing with him" Jenna smiled encouragingly.

"Well…okay…" she said, sounding nervous.

"Okay here," I put the lyrics in front of us and started strumming slightly muted chords.

**(A/N: Percy in italics and Annabeth underlined, both of them will be underlined and italicized)**

_Do you hear me? I'm talking to you_

_Across the water across the deep blue ocean_

_Under the open sky, oh my, baby I'm trying_

Boy I hear you in my dreams

I feel your whisper across the sea

I keep you with me in my heart

You make it easier when life gets hard

_I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend_

_Lucky to have been where I have been_

_Lucky to be coming home again_

_Ooh ooh ooh_

_They don't know how long it takes_

_Waiting for a love like this_

_Every time we say goodbye_

_I wish we had one more kiss_

_I'll wait for you I promise you, I will_

_I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend_

_Lucky to have been where I have been_

_Lucky to be coming home again_

_Lucky we're in love in every way_

_Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed_

_Lucky to be coming home someday_

_And so I'm sailing through the sea_

_To an island where we'll meet_

_You'll hear the music fill the air_

_I'll put a flower in your hair_

Though the breezes through trees

Move so pretty you're all I see

As the world keeps spinning 'round

You hold me right here, right now

_I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend_

_Lucky to have been where I have been_

_Lucky to be coming home again_

_I'm lucky we're in love in every way_

_Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed_

_Lucky to be coming home someday_

_Ooh ooh ooh_

_Ooh ooh ooh, ooh_

**So the first song is I'm Just A Kid by Simple Plan and the second song is Lucky sung by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat. Both are great songs and I've got more great songs planned. If you have any suggestions (either for the songs or for the plot) review or PM me and I'll take everything you say into consideration. If you don't have any suggestions/requests, please review anyway because they make me happy and a happy author is and updating author… ;) Stay tuned for chapter 6, which should (schoolwork and familial activities allowing,) be up sometime next week-ish. And I'm forgetting something… oh year! REVIEW!**


	6. When Monsters Attack

**So first I just want to apologize for the delay, I know I said this chapter would be ready about a week after the fifth chapter, but for some reason my computer didn't save the finished sixth chapter so I had to rewrite this whole thing after getting over the fact that I was very angry at Word. So to make up for it, I gave you a nice, long chapter with some good Percabeth moments.**

***WARNING***

**This chapter earns its T rating, not because of romance but because of some dark themes that occur. (I blame the fact that I was rereading the 5****th**** Harry Potter book recently and, for whatever reason, the angsty Harry was still in my head, wanting a way out while I wrote this.) We have a monster fight scene in this chapter and I want to apologize because I'm really just not good with fight scenes. For some reason, it's one of the only things I can't ever imagine in my head, so just bear with me. That is not the darker part. The darker part is after the fight. It is not light and fluffy but there is a little Percabeth in there to make you happy.**

We ended the song and I realized that the room had filled with everyone and they were all staring at us. Awkward…

"Wow, that was really good!" Jenna squealed, "you two should sing together more often!"

I looked at Annabeth, unsure of how to respond only to find that Annabeth was looking at me for the same reason.

"I…well…I guess we'll have to since the record company wants duets…" I stuttered

"So you really do write love songs then?" Silena asked, looking excited. I was both scared and concerned with how excited she was looking.

"Yeah. Actually, the first song I ever wrote was a love song." I admitted. Suddenly all eight people in the room were staring straight at me, looking _very_ interested. I gulped as I was suddenly bombarded with questions.

"Who was she?" Silena

"What's the song?" Jenna

"Are you going to play us the song?" Thalia

"When did you write it?" Nico. Wait, why does he care?

"Okay, first, it doesn't matter who she was or what the song is. No I'm not playing it for you; it's really bad, and Nico, why do you care?" I asked.

"I-its-I…I don't know" Nico shrugged.

"So enough with this conversation." Grover stepped in. I knew I loved that satyr for a reason! "We should probably go out and do something. You know, _be seen._"

"That sounds like a great idea." I said quickly, "I've been stuck in this room all day and could seriously use some fresh air."

"Me too." Beckendorf agreed.

"On our way to the arcade, I saw a park like, two blocks away." Nico said.

"Cool, so lets meet in the living room in ten minutes." Luke clapped his hands in an authoritative manner and led the crowed out of my room.

Knowing I still had a lot more work ahead of me, I grabbed the songs that I hadn't gone through yet and put them in the ammo box to take to the park, along with my guitar and its case. I made a pile of the ones I had gone through and put them in the closet safe. What? Fans (and daughters of Aphrodite) can do some crazy things…

Twenty minutes later, Jenna and I were sitting on a blanket once again going through songs while Luke, Nico, and Beckendorf were throwing a football. Grover had disappeared in search of a garbage can because he was feeling a bit hungry. Silena. Annabeth and Thalia were on another blanket next to ours, playing cards. Going through the songs was surprisingly dull work, but being outside definitely helped. So did having a group of girls around to ask for their opinions if I was stuck.

"Any threes?" Annabeth asked.

Thalia shook her head: "Go fish."

"I can't believe you're playing Go Fish." Jenna smiled, "I haven't played that game since I was eight."

"Yeah well, when camp wears out every other card game, you start getting desperate." Thalia sighed, handing Selina a nine.

"So, Percy, tell us more about this girl. You know, the one you wrote your first song for." Silena practically demanded. Wow, I've never met anyone so pushy in my life. And that was saying something.

"Look, I don't want to talk about it, okay? It was a really long time ago and I don't even have the song any more." I explained. I was seriously starting to get tired of this conversation.

"You don't have it? Why not?" Silena sounded slightly upset.

"Because it was a horrible song," I said for what felt like the millionth time.

"Hmmm" was all Silena responded with. I shook my head and looked down at the pile of songs in front of me. After a moment, I decided that I had been working long enough today and that I deserved a break from going through song after song. I laid back on the blanket and looked at the trees above me for a few moments before I felt myself begin to drift off.

"Hey, Percy" someone was shaking my shoulder lightly. I blinkingly opened my eyes. Annabeth was kneeling next to me.

"Sorry, did I fall asleep?" I asked, sitting up.

"Yeah, we're getting ready to go. We've got go get ready for dinner." Annabeth smiled at me. I jumped up as I heard a blood-curdling scream. I looked around and saw Jenna running as fast as she could away from a monster. It was gigantic and, oddly, purple. I'd never seen a purple monster before but I didn't have much time to dwell on that as it was trying to kill my sister.

I tore after the monster, which was chasing Jenna into a thicket of trees. As I ran after Barney, I pulled out Riptide. I could hear the others following me but couldn't spare them much thought. I slowed down as I got nearer to where Old Purple Scales had backed Jenna into a corner. The others caught up to me and I began giving orders.

"Alright, there are six of us and just one monster, so this shouldn't be too complicated. Luke, we're going to distract it. Nico and Silena, once we've got its attention, get Jenna out. Thalia, Annabeth, Beckendorf, when Luke and I have its attention, attack. Got it?" they nodded, "Ok. Lets go."

Luke and I ran to the side of the monster, which looked sort of like a giant purple beaver mixed with an armadillo. It was the weirdest thing I've ever seen, and we all know that's saying something.

"Hey, Ugly! Why have one when you could get two?" Luke shouted at it, throwing a rock at its head. Now, I don't know how many monsters you've fought, but, generally, insulting and throwing things at a monster is a very bad idea. However, it worked since it turned to us and growled.

"You ready for this?" Luke asked as it started towards us.

"Ready as I'll ever be." I said, getting into my fighting stance.

Barney swiped at us and as I dived out of way, I saw Nico and Silena running with Jenna between them. _Good,_ I thought, as I rolled and jumped up, slashing with Riptide. The monster swung at me again, but this time it's claw caught me on the left arm. I fell to my knees as the pain overwhelmed me for a moment. Blinking the pain away, I stood up, only to see the monster backhand Luke and send him flying. Gripping my sword, I prepared to run at the monster, but it had other ideas. It reached out, picked me up and shoved me against a tree. It held me there, with its claw on my throat, choking me. _This is just great, _I thought, _I'm wounded, hanging who knows how many feet in the air and I cant breath._ I was suddenly falling and then the world went dark.

I slowly became back to consciousness. The first thing I noticed was the pain in my left arm and in my head. I wanted to groan but when I tried, I noticed my throat hurt too. Probably from the monster trying to crush my windpipe. _The monster!_ I suddenly remembered. My eyes flew open and I sat up, ignoring pounding in my head and the searing pain in my arm. What I saw made me pause. I was in my hotel room, lying in my bed.

"Whoa, easy there, Seaweed Brain." A voice from my right said. Looking around I noticed Annabeth sitting next to my bed, a book in her lap.

She got up and helped me sit back, situating my pillows so I wouldn't have to use my arm.

"What happened?" I asked, becoming aware of how bad my voice sounded.

"The monster dropped you when Beckendorf destroyed it. You hit your head when you fell…and because the monster had its claw on your throat, your vocal chords are damaged…" she said quietly as she handed me a glass of water.

"Was anyone else hurt?" I asked, taking I gulp of water, which felt really good on my throat.

"Luke got the wind knocked out of him. He's got a few minor bruises, so do Thalia and I, but its no big deal. Jenna's fine, just a little shaken up." For some reason, she wasn't meeting my eyes. She looked at the bandage on my arm and said so softly I almost didn't hear her, "Its all my fault."

"Me getting hurt?" I asked, confused, "Of course that's not your fault. You didn't tell the monster to drop me."

"No, it's not that. I-I-I had a chance to kill the monster, but I didn't take it. Jenna was still in its sight and…I hesitated. I'm so sorry. Its all my fault you're like this." She looked distraught.

"Listen, this," I gestured to my bandages, "is in no way your fault. I would have done the same thing if I were in your shoes. And, I'm fine, so there's no need to worry."

"But you're not fine!" she exclaimed, standing up, "You have a concussion, your throat is messed up, and I have no idea how to heal it. And don't even get me started on your arm! We couldn't take you to a hospital and none of us are the children of Apollo so we're not very good at healing and you almost _died_." She collapsed back in her chair and buried her face in her hands. I looked at her for a moment; shocked that Annabeth was so close to tears. She was one of the strongest people I knew and this was very unlike her. Pulling the covers off and swinging my legs off the bed, I became aware that I was wearing my pajamas. Normally, the thought that someone changed my clothes while I was unconscious would have embarrassed me to no end. At this moment however, I was more concerned about Annabeth. I stood up and pulled her up too. I wrapped my arms around her, ignoring my arm, and hugged her. Her arms wrapped around my waist as she laid her head on my chest.

"Its not your fault" I

I don't know how long we stood there, but eventually, she pulled away and looked up at me.

"I'm sorry about that. I don't know where it came from" she apologized.

"Don't worry about it." I grinned at her.

"I was so scared you were going to die." She shook herself slightly, "I haven't felt like that since you blew up Mount St. Helen's."

"I do seem to find myself in a lot of near death situations." I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood a little.

"You do, but that's why you're Seaweed Brain." She smiled.

"So where is everyone?" I asked after a moment.

"They just left to go dinner. We still needed to make some public appearances and it seemed like a good time to do it. Thalia's still here though since she knows the most about healing because she's a Hunter." She explained, starting to walk toward the door. I followed her into the living room, where Thalia was sitting in a recliner, watching television.

"Look who woke up." Annabeth said, plopping down on the couch.

"Ah-ha, Sleeping Beauty awakes!" Thalia smiled as I walked up and sat down on the couch next to Annabeth.

"That's funny.'' I told her, "So which of the seven dwarfs are you? Grumpy? Maybe Sneezy?"

"Considering I'm the one in charge of healing you, lets go with 'Doc'" Annabeth rolled her eyes at Thalia's response. As we sat watching the TV (some crime show), I realized that I was really hungry.

"I'm starving, what are we going to do about dinner?" I asked.

"We're getting room service. We were waiting for you to wake up before we ordered." Annabeth informed me, "What do you want?"

Within a few minutes, Annabeth had called and placed our order. Now all we had to do was wait. Something us demigods are _so_ good at. Please note the sarcasm. As we waited for the food to come, I replayed every fight I'd been in since becoming a demigod in my head and realized how close and how often I'd come to dying. This made me want to write a song… which is what I tend to do when I need to work something out. I got up and walked over to the piano. I was pleased to see that my pen and paper were still there, allowing me to start writing immediately. I was trying to stay away from being super morbid, so I made the song more up-tempo. I was two-thirds of the way done when our food came and refused to eat until it was finished.

Finally, I looked up. It was done and it was a pretty good song, if I do say so myself.

I stretched as I stood up from the piano and made my way to the couch and, more importantly, the food.

"So how long will it take before I'm healed?" I asked as I took a bite from my hamburger.

"It depends." Thalia said, slowly, "I think it wont take too long if you have a little bit of nectar and ambrosia, like, twice a day."

"And if you're not alright by our recording session, we can always ask one of the gods to heal you." Annabeth added.

"Alright. I can live with that." I agreed.

We ate in silence for a few moments before Thalia suggested we watch a movie. A horror movie to be exact. Neither Annabeth nor I were particularly pleased with this as we'd both been scared enough today, but we didn't say anything.

She hit play and we settled in to watch the movie. Annabeth and I were on the couch while Thalia was on the recliner. I don't know quite how it happened but during the movie, Annabeth and I seemed to slowly get closer to each other until we were literally sitting right next to each other. Which meant that I could tell every time something scared her and made her jump. Several times, she even grabbed my arm. By the end of the movie, my right arm was around her and she was holding my left hand, squeezing it every time something jumped out at the characters in the movie. When the credits were rolling, there was a click at the door. Annabeth squeezed my hand and she jumped when the door opened to reveal our friends who were getting back from dinner.

"Oh, its just you guys." She sighed.

"'Just us'?" Luke asked, "What do you mean 'just us'? Who else has a key to this room?"

"Cut her some slack." I said, standing up, "we literally just finished watching a scary movie."

"Oh. Okay." Luke nodded in understanding, "so when did you wake up?"

"A few hours ago." I said.

"And he wasted no time." Thalia said, "He had a song written before dinner."

"Oooo, good, can we hear it?" Jenna asked, excitedly.

"Sure" I said, walking to the piano as everyone sat down and got comfortable.

I played the intro and began to sing:

(**Live Like We're Dying by Kris Allen. Suggested by Guest**)

_Sometimes we fall down, can't get back up  
We're hiding behind skin that's too tough  
How come we don't say I love you enough  
Till it's too late, it's not too late_

Our hearts are hungry for a food that won't come  
And we could make a feast from these crumbs  
And we're all staring down the barrel of a gun  
So if your life flashed before you,  
What would you wish you would've done

Yeah, we gotta start  
Looking at the hands of the time we've been given  
If this is all we got and we gotta start thinking  
If every second counts on a clock that's ticking  
Gotta live like we're dying

We only got 86,400 seconds in a day to  
Turn it all around or to throw it all away  
We gotta tell them that we love them  
While we got the chance to say  
Gotta live like we're dying

And if your plane fell out of the skies  
Who would you call with your last goodbye  
Should be so careful who we let fall outta our lives  
So when we long for absolution,  
There'll no one on the line, yeah

Yeah, we gotta start  
Looking at the hands of the time we've been given  
If this is all we got and we gotta start thinking  
If every second counts on a clock that's ticking  
Gotta live like we're dying

We only got 86,400 seconds in a day to  
Turn it all around or to throw it all away  
We gotta tell them that we love them  
While we got the chance to say  
Gotta live like we're dying

Like we're dying, oh, like we're dying..  
Like we're dying, oh, like we're dying

We only got 86,400 seconds in a day to  
Turn it all around or to throw it all away  
We gotta tell them that we love them  
While we got the chance to say  
Gotta live like we're dying

You never know a good thing till it's gone  
You never see a crash till it's head on  
Why do we think we're right when we're dead wrong  
You never know a good thing till it's gone

Yeah, we gotta start  
Looking at the hands of the time we've been given  
If this is all we got and we gotta start thinking  
If every second counts on a clock that's ticking  
Gotta live like we're dying

We only got 86,400 seconds in a day to  
Turn it all around or to throw it all away  
We gotta tell them that we love them  
While we got the chance to say  
Gotta live like we're dying

Like we're dying, oh, like we're dying..  
Like we're dying, oh, like we're dying

We only got 86,400 seconds in a day to  
Turn it all around or to throw it all away  
We gotta tell them that we love them  
While we got the chance to say  
Gotta live like we're dying.

I played the last few chords and looked up.

"What do you think?" I asked.

"I think someone got inspired by their near-death experience…" Nico grinned.

"I agree. But I also think it's a great song." Jenna smiled and the others nodded in agreement.

"You know, I think the song brings up a great point," Silena began, "Life is short and you have to tell people things before its too late…so, Percy, who was the girl you wrote your first song for?"

I couldn't help it, I laughed, "Silena, for a second I thought you were serious. I thought you were going to say something really deep."

"Percy, I am serious. Who is she?" Silena all but demanded.

"Why does it matter? Its not like I still like her or anything."

"Guys, its getting late, and we've got stuff to do tomorrow" Grover spoke up, saving me. Have I mentioned that I love that satyr?

"Fine, but this isn't over, Percy." Silena stood up and went to her room.

We all looked at each other, trying not to laugh before going to our rooms.

The next day, I felt remarkably better. I could move my arm a little without it hurting really badly, my throat was nearly healed and my head was basically fine too. This was all good news because today we had an interview on a television talk show and I didn't want to have to explain all my injuries. The 'stuff' that Grover said we had to do today included a meeting after breakfast with Mr. Brett Brian, our label's CEO and founder. It was a pretty big deal that he was here since we're in Colorado and he lives in Los Angeles. We have no idea why he wanted to speak with us, but we were going to find out.

We walked into the conference room of the hotel he was staying at and found him sitting with a tall, broad shouldered guy with light brown hair. He smiled as we walked in and every member of our group tensed when they saw him.

"Hey, Abby." He smiled at her, "Its good to see you."

"Hello Tony. Wish I could say the same." She said, coolly, crossing her arms. Tony Greggson was an up and coming musician like we were, except for one thing. He was Annabeth's ex-boyfriend. The one who had both broken her heart and unknowingly helped us become famous. And we hated him.

**Cliffhanger! Sorry, but I had to, and I've got 2 scenes from the next chapter already written. And we'll get to hate Tony. (Anyone wanna see a Percy/Tony fight?). I apologize for the long Author's Notes, but I've got a lot to say, okay?**

**So I know there was a bit of OOC in this but I'm going to explain it like this: how would you react if you thought you were to blame if the person you liked (and I mean really liked) almost died which then reminded you of when he disappeared and you thought he had gotten himself blown up and was dead (in BotL) so you are reliving a horrible time in your life while already going through some bad things. It might just make you snap. Also, with the movie thing, I don't know about you, but if I get scared really badly once, it makes me more likely to be scared for the rest of the day, so that's what's up with ****Annabeth ****there. Not to mention, horror movies are a great way to be near the guy you like, which ****Annabeth**** utilizes in this chapter. Plus, it gave me a way to add a little more Percabeth to the chapter… But I still want your opinions on HOW they get together. (Along with Nico & Jenna and Luke & Thalia). So REVIEW and let me know what you think.**

**P.S: It was suggested that, since the band's name is Sons of Gods, that some of their songs should be about Greek mythology. Suggestions?**


End file.
